What happens when an influencer ventures into a Baltic blackout? Amid seasickness and giant waves, podcast host Aryaan Misra took a digital detox for two weeks aboard a cargo ship
Much of his time was spent on the captain’s deck, reading. ‘It was nice to just exist without the pull of a screen. A proper mental reset’; (right) Aryaan Misra got a glimpse of the Northern Lights as he travelled on a cargo ship on the Baltic Sea. Pics Courtesy/Aryaan Misra
For 14 days, Aryaan Misra—founder of Desi Studios and co-host of the Desi Crime Podcast—embarked on an atypical journey. From January 8 to January 22, he lived aboard a cargo carrier ship, sailing from Terneuzen, Netherlands, to Tornio, Finland, through the rough waters of the Baltic Sea. That too, in the winter.
The catch? He was the only non-crew passenger and had voluntarily severed all ties with the digital world—no internet, no notifications, no endless scrolling. Not even a phone connection. Just books, his thoughts, and the open sea—and seasickness. A lot of it.
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But why?
“It had been on my bucket list for a while,” Misra says. “Before the pandemic, it was easier to board a cargo ship as a non-crew passenger, but post-lockdown, it became much more restrictive. After some research, I found a way to make it happen and eventually secured a spot through a port in Belgium.”
Aryaan Misra on-board the cargo ship from Netherlands (Terneuzen) to Tornio (Finland) through the Baltic Sea
What he hadn’t anticipated, however, was the relentless seasickness. “I did not expect it to hit me that hard,” he admits.
He was prepared for everything else, even the digital withdrawal. “My livelihood depends on my digital presence—whether it’s the podcast, social media, or content creation,” he explains. “Without the constant buzz of notifications, I wasn’t subconsciously waiting for the next thing. I could just be.”
The crew of the cargo ship, naturally, had questions for this odd passenger, the primary one being, “Why?”
“They couldn’t wrap their heads around why an Indian guy in his twenties would willingly choose to be stranded in the middle of the ocean with nothing but his own thoughts,” Misra laughs. “They treated me like a sort of intern—amused by my presence but welcoming nonetheless. These were seasoned sailors, and then there was me, just there for the adventure. It’s not an experience you come across in everyday life.”
With temperatures plummeting to -30°C at night, stepping outside even for a few minutes felt like a test of endurance. “The ship itself was warm, but feeling the slap of the cold air for 5-10 minutes was an experience in itself. You feel alive in a very visceral way.”
How to get there
An agency in Antwerp, Belgium, called CPTN ZEPPOS connects you to cargo ship companies, in this case, a steel-delivering vessel. After a certain fee for the trip has been paid, the agency has shuttle services which take you to the immigration office in the Netherlands in Belgium. After the passport has been stamped for entry and exit specifically designed for ships, you are taken to the designated ship
Phone? Hell, no!
Surprisingly, Misra never felt the urge to check his phone. “I appreciated the silence. It gave me time with my own thoughts—something we rarely allow ourselves.”
Much of his time was spent on the captain’s deck, reading. “It was nice to just exist without the pull of a screen. A proper mental reset.”
‘There was a Filipino chef on board, and the food was genuinely amazing—it played a huge role in keeping my spirits up’; (right) The crew would often be down for a break from the deck. ‘They would sip beer while I struggled to keep anything down’
“The days stretched endlessly,” Misra says. “Especially with the seasickness. I’d watch the crew sip beer while I struggled to keep anything down.”
Sailing through those cold, grey waters, time itself became an abstract concept. “We were constantly crossing time zones, but the ship operated on its own schedule. It could be 3 pm inside and 5 pm outside.”
He says it felt as if it was out of the movie Life Of Pi, where a young Indian boy is stranded alone on the ocean.
The icebreaker, built to smash through icebergs and make way for ships. Pic/Getty Images
“My day revolved around mealtimes,” he admits. “They were the only normal things in an otherwise surreal experience. There was a Filipino chef on board, and the food was amazing—it played a huge role in keeping my spirits up.”
Books were BFFs
With time stretching before him, Misra turned to the books which he had toted along. “I read Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim. As a former sailor himself, he writes so vividly that you can breathe the air he describes. I also read a true crime book, Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg. Despite running a true crime podcast, I don’t usually read much in that genre. But this one was gripping.”
Northern Lights FTW
Despite the discomfort of the seasickness, there were also moments of pure wonder. “The Northern Lights,” he says, awe in his voice. “Though it’s the cameras that capture them in their full glory, not our eyes. But still, I teared up. You don’t truly realise these concepts until you experience them.”
An iceberg was another surreal experience. “We had to call in an icebreaker—a ship that smashes through the ice to make way. That’s when I fully grasped the term icebreaker, which we use so casually.”
Back in the real world…
After two weeks of solitude, returning to the digital world was almost instantaneous. “I wish I could say it changed me, but the moment I got back, my mind went straight to ‘What’s the next podcast episode?’ I slid back into normal life like nothing had happened.” Would he do it again? “Not for at least 3-4 years,” he laughs.
Should you do it?
His advice for others considering a similar journey? To be comfortable with themselves—truly comfortable. That’s because for two weeks, it’s simply them and nobody else. “If you don’t enjoy your own company, you’ll find it unbearable. Also, prepare for the seasickness. Trust me, it’s no joke.”
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